Research fellowship with Master Degree in Design

Job summary:
A Call for one Research fellowship with Master Degree (Bolsa de BI, Mestre) is open at Madeira Interactive Technologies Institute (M-ITI) in the context of the project “LARGESCALE - Location-based Augmented Reality Gadgets and Environment-friendly Sightseeing of Cultural Attractions for Locals and Excursionists,” project no. 32474 funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), through Portuguese National Funds (PIDDAC).
 
Job description:
Short description of the project: LARGESCALE is multidisciplinary project studying: (i) tourist and travel mobility on land and ocean using the sensor based data; and (ii) affective analysis of informal learning experiences. Collected data inquiries will be used to: (1) observe, predict and impact tourist's mobility patterns; (2) create novel digital virtual tourism products as interactive, exploratory Location-based Augmented Reality Gadgets (LARGs); (3) promote local biodiversity (including marine megafauna), arts and crafts as tourism products of Madeira and Lisbon regions, (4) create impact on IoT devices used for biodiversity monitoring and awareness. LARGs will be collected through wearable/mobile applications, using geolocation and special POI sensors, and will serve to promote sustainable travel and well-being.

Work Plan:
The selected candidate will work in close collaboration with other members of the interdisciplinary team including participants from HCI, Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering. Applicant should participate in the design and research evaluation of applied LARGs in situ. Activities will include:
1. Individuation of Points of Interests (POI's) and Media Gathering This activity assumes the research and gathering of existing biodiversity (involving the marine megafauna), cultural heritage, arts and local crafts in both Madeira and Lisbon regions, which may or may not be necessarily known to tourists. Diverse media will be collected (e.g. 360 camera footage, videos, images) which will serve for the creation of LARGs and for the POI marketing purposes.
2. UX/UI Design of LARGs Once the POI's are identified, several routes and novel trajectories will be designed, and used for potential suggestions for tourists. This activity assumes the design of Location-based Augmented Reality Gadgets (LARGs) as 2D and 3D models which represent the local biodiversity, culture, arts and crafts. LARGs will be embedded in the mobile application user interface. They will also be adaptive to the previously sensed POI microclimate as well as to the participants' physiological responses.
3. Design of the Web Interactive Front-end Goal is to design the front-end web page scalable and resizable for mobile phones, tablets and web browsers. Special attention will be on interactive information visualization dashboard which will serve to portray more information about LARGs' location, weather and affective states of tourists. It will also provide an option to explore in further the locations from remote.
4. Design of the Mobile Application GUI Mobile application graphical user interfaces should accommodate: (i) interactive LARGs within the perimeter of the POIs; (ii) interactive information visualization dashboard with statistics providing the collected LARGs, carbon footprint, burned calories, walked distance, etc; (iii) ability for sharing the LARGs and (iv) adaptive LARGs to be tailored to the obtained microclimate data from the weather stations.

Candidate profile:
Applicants should have next demonstrated skills and competences:
• Hold a MSc (or equivalent) in any of the main research areas
• Excellent spoken and written English skills is mandatory
• Strong portfolio depicting previous works in HCI, UX/UI, Interaction Design
• Experience in 2D vector and raster graphics and software (e.g. Inkscape, Adobe Creative Suite, Corel, etc)
• Experience in 3D modelling (e.g. 3D Max, Fusion 360, Maya, etc)
• Experience in animation (e.g. After Effects) and sound editing (e.g. Audacity)

Legislation and applicable regulations: The scholarships are directed to applicants under the law no. 40/2004 of August 18th (Research Grant Holder Statute) and the current conditions established on the FCT regulations: http://www.fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/docs/RegulamentoBolsasFCT.pdf

Duration: The Fellowship will have the duration of 12 months, with the possibility of renewal for additional periods for a period never after to the project's end which is expected to be 30/09/2021.
Monthly Stipend: The monthly stipend will be 980,00 Euros, tax free, as determined by FCT, I.P. Scientific Fellowships regulations for Portugal (www.fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/valores) to be paid by bank transfer.
Workplace: the activities will be performed at Madeira Interactive Technologies Institute in Funchal | Madeira - Portugal and/or Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) facilities in Lisbon (Portugal).

Application process:
Applications must be in English and include:
- Motivation letter
- CV, including research experience, academic qualifications and final grades. - Link to online portfolio or related website
- Optional recommendation letters can contribute positively to the candidate evolution
Applications must be sent by e-mail, with subject ““FCT32474/002 BI position_Your_Last_Name””, to the e-mail address: hr@m-iti.org.
The selected candidate must submit proof of her/his Degree within 10 days following notification of the preliminary results. More information about Diplomas recognition may be found in the Euraxess portal.
Methods of selection:
Selection methods shall be as follows:
- Educational background and graduation (CV) (60%)
- Technology related skills relevant for the work plan (CV and motivation letter) (40%)
Evaluation based on the scale: Excellent (4), Good (3) Satisfactory (2), and Poor (0). In case of equally qualified candidates, interviews will be conducted and recommendations from previous supervisors will be considered, as well as a candidate's perceived fit and potential contribution to the project.
Jury Selection:
- Marko Radeta, PhD, M-ITI
- Nuno Nunes, PhD, IST-ID
- Valentina Nisi, PhD, M-ITI
Scientific Orientation: Dr. Marko Radeta
Notification of Results: The highest scoring candidate will be notified by email as well as all other candidates. After being notified, candidates have 10 work days to present a claim by email. If no claim is received by M-ITI, the jury's decision will become definitive.
Application Period: From September 10 to September 30, 2018.
Contract start date is expected to be in October 2018
Notes:
- Under the terms of D.L. No. 29/2001, of February 3, a disabled candidate has a preference when in equal classification, which prevails over any other legal preference. Candidates must declare on the application form their respective degree of disability, the type of disability and the means of communication / expression to be used in the selection process, under the terms of the aforementioned diploma.
- The selection process will be based on the principle of non-discrimination in respect of gender, age, nationality, religion, racial group, or any other possible discriminatory issue. Selection will be made only based on merit and following the European Charter for Researchers, the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers (Commission Recommendation, Brussels, 11.3.2005, 2005/251/EC) and the recommendations from the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA).
- M-ITI is a recognized “refugee welcoming organization" by the European Commission, follows the European Charter for Researchers and welcomes applications from all qualified individuals.
- The deadline for application may be extended at any time without previous notice having in mind the requirements for the positions under this call.